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Door handle to door hand racing in the MINI Challenge
German International driver Peter Sharmach arrived after the Friday practise session and was handicapped by damaged tyres but still managed first place overall for the weekend. Former Pro 7 national champion Eddie Bell took second place for the round and young gun Anthony Pedersen finished this round in third place. It was a dramatic race three of the MINI Challenge that wowed the crowd in the Mike Perot Motorsport series with door handle to door handle racing showing that the Kiwi drivers had the mettle of their machines. What started out as a battle in race three between former Toyota series champion Brent Collins in the PDL MINI #44 and Eddie Bell in his ESWA MINI #69 for the first 8 laps took a dramatic turn on lap 9 when Peter Sharmach in MINI #27 took the lead and International Motorsport team member Anthony Pedersen in the J.A. Russell MINI #96 followed. A relieved Sharmach crossed the line in a dramatic finish, winning by the slimmest of margins, 0.023 of a second in front of Pedersen. “Everything came together for me despite the tyre issues, I was very happy to finish so well,” said Sharmach at the podium presentation held after the race. Hailing from Rotorua, 16-year-old student Pedersen was wrapt with his performance in race three, after finishing in fifth place in race two earlier in the day and third in the first race on Saturday. “It was awesome race, I absolutely loved every minute of it,” said an elated Pedersen. “The car went really well, it was great chasing Peter to the finish line.” Motorsport Services team member Kevin Cantwell of Auckland finished race three in third place his MINI #6, followed in fourth place by Eddie Bell. In race two Brent Collins in the PDL MINI #44 took the lead at the first corner from Gavin Dawson in the Scalextric MINI #50, and then lead the field to the finish line by driving defensively. Eddie Bell got around Dawson on lap four of the eight lap race, and chased Brent Collins all the way to the end finishing in second place while third place went to Peter Sharmach in MINI #27 who passed Dawson aggressively in the second to last lap. Anthony Pedersen in the J.A.Russell MINI #96 kept a clear head and held onto fifth place in race two followed by Motorsport Services team members: Kevin Cantwell in MINI #6, Jeff Hogg in the Opti Flex MINI #3, and Will Selles in MINI #2. Gary Johnstone in the Hendrix MINI # 52 held onto ninth place followed by the MINI Challenge’s youngest competitor 14-year-old Richard Moore driving the Scutum MINI#10 to tenth place.
“It appears that we have three Kiwi drivers, Collins, Bell and Pedersen who are already very competitive against our experienced German entrant Peter Sharmach and we still have six very exciting rounds of the MINI Challenge to go.” said Mr Jarratt. The NZ MINI Challenge acknowledges support from major sponsors Castrol, Dunlop Tyres and their international partner Valeo. The MINI Challenge also enjoys the support and sponsorship from John Cooper Works, KW Suspension, BBS Wheels, Coke Zero, and Cannon Signage Concepts. Race Three MINI Challenge Pukekohe Park Raceway 5/11/2006 Position: Driver Hometown Total time
Position: Driver Hometown Total time
Round One: 3-5 Nov 2006 Pukekohe This release was prepared on behalf of MINI Challenge 2006 (www.minichallenge.co.nz). For more information please contact Robert Barry on 027 640 1376 or email robertbarry@xtra.co.nz. |
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